Chapter 3

Nelson & Quick

Personality, Perception,
and Attribution

Copyright 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

Variables Influencing
Individual Behavior
P
The Person
Skills & abilities
Personality
Perceptions
Attitudes
Values
Ethics

E
The Environment
Organization
Work group
Job
Personal life

B
Behavior

B = f(P,E)

Propositions of
Interactional Psychology
Behaviorfunction of a continuous, multi-directional
interaction between person and situation
Personactive in process
Changed by situations
Changes situations
People vary in many characteristics
Two situational interpretations
The objective situation
Persons subjective view of the situation

Definition of Personality
Personality - A relatively stable set of characteristics
that influences an individuals behavior

Personality Theories
Trait Theory - understand individuals by breaking
down behavior patterns into observable traits
Psychodynamic Theory - emphasizes the
unconscious determinants of behavior
Humanistic Theory - emphasizes individual growth
and improvement
Integrative Approach - describes personality as a
composite of an individuals psychological
processes

Big Five Personality Traits

Extraversion

Gregarious, assertive,
sociable
Agreeableness
Cooperative, warm,
agreeable
Conscientiousness Hardworking, organized,
dependable
Emotional stability Calm, self-confidant, cool
Openness to
experience

Creative, curious,
cultured

Sources: P. T. Costa and R. R. McCrae, The NEO-PI Personality Inventory (Odessa, Fla.: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1992); J. F. Salgado, The
Five Factor Model of Personality and Job Performance in the European Community, Journal of Applied Psychology 82 (1997): 30-43.

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Locus of Control
Internal

External

I control what
happens to me!

People and
circumstances
control my fate!

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Efficacy - beliefs and expectations about ones ability to
accomplish a specific task effectively
Sources of self-efficacy
Prior experiences and prior success
Behavior models (observing success)
Persuasion
Assessment of current physical & emotional
capabilities

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Esteem
Feelings of Self Worth

Success tends
to increase
self-esteem

Failure tends
to decrease
self-esteem

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Self-Monitoring
Behavior based on cues from people & situations
High self-monitors
flexible: adjust behavior
according to the
situation and the
behavior of others
can appear
unpredictable &
inconsistent

Low self-monitors
act from internal states
rather than from
situational cues
show consistency
less likely to respond to
work group norms or
supervisory feedback

Who Is Most Likely to . . .

Low-self
monitors

High-self
monitors
Get promoted

Accomplish tasks, meet others

expectations, seek out central positions
in social networks

Change employers
Self-promote

Make a job-related
geographic move

Demonstrate higher levels of managerial

self-awareness; base behavior on others
cues and the situation

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
Positive Affect - an individuals tendency to
accentuate the positive aspects of oneself, other
people, and the world in general
Negative Affect - an individuals tendency to
accentuate the negative aspects of oneself, other
people, and the world in general

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations
A strong
situation can
overwhelm the effects
of individual personalities
by providing strong cues
for appropriate
behavior

Personality Characteristics
in Organizations

Strong
personalities
will dominate
in a weak
situation

How is Personality Measured?

Projective Test - elicits an individuals response to
abstract stimuli
Behavioral Measures - personality assessments that
involve observing an individuals behavior in a
controlled situation
Self-Report Questionnaire - assessment involving an
individuals responses to questions
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - instrument
measuring Jungs theory of individual differences.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Based on Carl Jungs work
People are fundamentally different
People are fundamentally alike
People have preference combinations for
extraversion/introversion, perception, judgment
Briggs & Myers developed the MBTI to understand
individual differences

MBTI Preferences
Preferences

Represents

Extraversion Introversion

How one
re-energizes
How one gathers
information
How one makes
decisions
How one orients to the
outer world

Sensing

Intuiting

Thinking

Feeling

Judging

Perceiving

Social Perception
Barriers
Selective perception
Stereotyping
First-impression error

Projection
Self-fulfilling prophecies

Social Perception interpreting information

about another person

Social Perception
Perceiver Characteristics
Familiarity with target
Attitudes/Mood
Self-Concept
Cognitive structure

Target Characteristics
Physical appearance
Verbal communication
Nonverbal cues
Intentions

Social Perception Barriers

interpreting information
about another person

Situational Characteristics
Interaction context
Strength of situational cues

Impression Management
Impression Management - process by which
individuals try to control the impression others have
of them
Name dropping
Appearance
Self-description
Flattery
Favors
Agreement with opinion

Attribution Theory
Attribution theory - explains how individuals pinpoint
the causes of their own behavior or that of others
Information cues for attribution information gathering
consensus
distinctiveness
consistency

Attribution Biases
Fundamental Attribution Error - tendency
to make attributions to internal causes when
focusing on someone elses behavior
Self-serving Bias - tendency to attribute ones
own successes to internal causes and ones
failures to external causes